The invention relates generally to off-highway vehicles, such as tractors, and more particularly to techniques for mounting operator cabs on such vehicles.
A wide range of off-highway vehicles have been developed for various purposes. In simple vehicles, seats and other operator supports may be sufficient, and these may be mounted on various forms of springs and other suspension components. However, in larger or more complex vehicles, such as tractors, a partially or fully enclosed cab is more desirable, providing one or more operators with a comfortable location from which the vehicle may be transported and used for work purposes for hours on end. Such cabs, sometimes referred to as “operator environments” also provide a central location to which controls and operator interfaces may be fed, and from which most or all of the vehicle functions may be easily controlled.
Conventional cab mounting systems typically mount the cab to the vehicle chassis via rubber isolators beneath the corners of the cab frame. This type of mounting does provide some reduction in noise and vibration transmission from the chassis during vehicle operation, but do not mitigate higher amplitude jolts and provide little isolation of frequencies such as those seen on tracked vehicles. Over a typical work period of several or many hours, resulting noise and vibration fatigue the operator and ultimately reduce his or her productivity.
There is a need in the field for improved arrangements for mounting cabs to vehicle frames and chassis, and a particular need for techniques that will provide improved operator comfort, while not altering the utility of conventional cabs. The new techniques must also be capable of adaptation for a range of vehicle sizes and configurations, and should present facilities in both manufacturing and transport of the components and subsystems involved.